Davies, South girls win loser-out contests

FARGO – Fargo Davies had two different stretches where it scored at least 15 consecutive points Friday at the Fargo Civic Center.

Those big runs sparked the Eagles to a 55-44 victory against Valley City in loser-out play at the East Region girls basketball tournament.

“Our defensive intensity stepped up and that got us some turnovers and got us some baskets that gave us momentum,” said Davies head coach Tonah Safranski.

The Eagles (10-11) play Grand Forks Red River at 3 p.m. today in a state-qualifying game at the Bison Sports Arena.

Valley City took a 26-13 lead after junior guard Megan McDaniel drained a 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 2 seconds to play in the first half. The Eagles countered with the next 15 points. Senior post Jasmine Moffett capped the run, sinking a 15-foot jumper that gave Davies a 28-26 lead with 15:20 remaining in the second half.

The Eagles added a 16-0 run later in the second half that pushed their lead to 55-37. Moffett also capped that rally with a short jumper with 1:15 remaining.

“When we crash the boards hard, we got some good second- and third-chance plays and that paid off for us,” said Safranski, whose team held a 57-39 rebounding edge.

Madeline Strandemo scored a game-high 15 points to help the Bruins earn a victory in loser-out play.

The Bruins (6-16) play Grand Forks Central at 3 p.m. today in a state-qualifying game at the Bison Sports Arena.

“We’ve kind of learned how to fight through adversity and we weren’t really doing that at the beginning of the year,” said Bruins head coach Jason Smedshammer. “I thought we hung in there and executed down the stretch.”

South pushed into the lead for good after scoring 10 consecutive points early in the second half. Junior guard Bria Taber scored four points during that key stretch. Taber capped the rally with a drive and layup that staked the Bruins to a 32-24 lead with 12 minutes, 2 seconds to play in the second half.

“It was mainly having confidence in ourselves,” Smedshammer said. “We haven’t won a lot of games, so we’re still trying to learn how to win. It was important for us to make a few shots to help get the pressure off our backs.”